Sunday, December 4, 2022

'Tis the Season - Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)



Streaming Service: Shudder
Movie Name/Year: Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)
Genre: Horror
Length: 1h 21min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Channel 83 Films, RLJE Films, Shudder
Director: Joe Begos
Writer: Joe Begos
Actors: Riley Dandy, Sam Delich, Jonah Ray, Dora Madison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Abraham Benrubi, Jeremy Gardner, Graham Skipper, Kansas Bowling, Joe Begos, Josh Ethier
 
Blurb from IMDb: It's Christmas Eve and Tori just wants to get drunk and party, but when a robotic Santa Clause at a nearby toy store goes haywire and begins a rampant killing spree through her small town, she's forced into a battle for survival.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
The trailer for Christmas Bloody Christmas had me dying when we watched it on stream. A bloody Christmas horror with robots is exactly what I needed to break up the monotony of the Hallmark rom-com holidays specials we had to slog through. I wish it had come out later in the month so it could break up the films we are going to be watching as well.
 
I tend to get sick of saccharin-sweet rom-coms half-way through December.
 
That said, Christmas Bloody Christmas was so much fun. It was violent, raunchy, and funny. I’ll admit, some of the humor came from ‘so bad it’s good’ moments, but that doesn’t bother me. This is exactly the kind of horror that I really enjoy watching. It’s got a no-fucks-given late 70s, early 80s slasher feel, more than anything else. It’s what you would have gotten if Halloween (1978) was written by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Red State).
 
The banter was outstanding. I cannot explain how surprised I was by just how organic the dialogue was. It didn’t feel like the actors were reading from a script. It felt like they were hanging out and teasing each other. I’ve had similar conversations with my friends, with the same rate of debates and ribbing. It was glorious to listen to.
 

The first killings don’t happen until about twenty minutes in, and I wasn’t missing it. I did, however, have fun once it started.
 
Riley Dandy (A Hollywood Christmas, That’s Amor, Interceptor) and Sam Delich (Spiderhead, Home and Away, The Marshes) had some serious chemistry. I’ve seen adored big-budget popcorn flicks, and award-winning indie films with actors that had less chemistry than them. I have seen both in past projects, but they never stood out to me.
 
I don’t know if it was working together, or Joe Begos’ (Bliss, VFW, The Mind’s Eye) script/direction, but they stand out now. I’m going to notice them in the future.
 
Christmas Bloody Christmas was grungy, bad ass, a little corny, and was phenomenally written. If you want to see it for yourself, check it out on Shudder December 9th.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score –7.2/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating 4.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R
 
Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLFSDCMuBM&ab_channel=Shudder

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